Reverse innovation and American health care in a time of cost crisis

The realization that the American health care system must simultaneously decrease per-capita cost and increase quality has created the opportunity for the US to learn from low- and middle-income countries. "Reverse innovation" describes the process whereby an inexpensive innovation is used first in countries with limited infrastructure and resources and then spreads to industrialized nations like the US. The traditional model of innovation has involved the creation of high-end products by companies in industrialized nations and the spread of these products to the developing world by adapting them to function in low- and middle-income countries. Reverse innovation involves the US borrowing new ideas and products designed for less wealthy countries in order to deliver health care more efficiently. Many believe that the high cost of American health care is the major reason that the US is facing a large federal deficit problem that is hampering the ability of American companies to compete in a global economy.